By Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 23, 2003; Page A17

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 22 -- The Bush administration has protested Mexico's efforts to seek passage of a Security Council resolution calling for the protection of U.N. aid workers because it includes a reference to the International Criminal Court, which the United States opposes.

The Mexican initiative, which enjoys strong backing in the 15-nation council, places the United States in the awkward position of potentially opposing the first resolution designed to shield relief workers from violence in the aftermath of the bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad on Tuesday.

The resolution, drafted at the prompting of the United Nations' chief relief coordinator, condemns the murder or mistreatment of aid workers and urges governments to punish the perpetrators of such acts. It also says that attacks on aid workers and peacekeepers constitute a war crime under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal inaugurated in March.

The United States signed a 1998 treaty establishing the court, but President Bush withdrew U.S. support, expressing concern that it could be used for frivolous or politically based prosecutions of Americans.

The United States threatened to veto the same resolution in May, when Mexico first proposed it, according to U.S. and Mexican officials. But Mexico announced Thursday that it will press again for its adoption next week in response to Tuesday's attack.

U.S. officials said that they are pressing Mexico to omit the reference to the international tribunal and make other changes. "We are making our views known to the Mexican authorities and others on the Security Council," said Richard Grenell, the spokesman at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.